S. E. Hinton, Rumble Fish (1975)

Since teaching The Outsiders a few years ago, 

Rumble Fish by S. E. Hinton

Originally published: 1975
Read: October 2025

I've been working my way through the remainder of S. E. Hinton's works in her YA shared universe. Rumble Fish is the third of those, though in this case I'm not sure what its connections to the others actually are! I found this less effective than either Outsiders or That Was Then, This Is Now; it certainly has some strong scenes, particularly when Rusty-James and his friend go for a night on the town, and the imagery of the ending is captivating, but this one never quite clicked for me and I'm not sure I could tell you why exactly. Too repetitive? Just as TWTTIN did a similar thing to the previous book but sadder, so does Rumble Fish, going for an even more depressing ending. Yet, I don't know that that's explanation enough; plenty of authors circle around similar themes repeatedly and manage to make them compelling nonetheless. I think perhaps what hold the book back is Rusty-James's lack of self-knowledge; I don't think he ever really gets himself, which is different from Ponyboy or Byron. This certainly happens to real people (quite frequently!) but it does mean it's harder to immerse yourself in the narrative, I think.